Lore:The Fox

The Fox
The Fox
Race	Daedra	Gender	Male
Resided in		Wing of the Gryphon Wing of the Crow
Appears in		ESO

The Fox, also potentially referred to as Gray, was a talking Daedric Fox from the Hunting Grounds of the Daedric Prince Hircine. It was a friend and companion of the Gryphon, one of the Luminaries of Magic. The Fox played a role in the rediscovery of Scribing, a "metamagical theoryset" created by Archmage Ulfsild the Evergreen and the Luminaries, which was the precursor to the modern Spellcrafting system.

The Fox described the realm he came from as a forested place where people become foxes, and foxes become people, and the night goes on forever, and claimed there were many there that looked like him. The Fox considered Hircine a great Prince to his subjects, unlike other Princes who, according to the accounts of the inhabitants of other Oblivion realms the Fox had spoken to, asked a lot of their subjects. Despite his generally positive attitude, the Fox also spoke of times when the horns of the hunt would sound at night, forcing everyone present to run for their lives. Thus Hircine was deemed a great Prince, provided one didn't get caught. The Fox hated the Evergloam and thought the realm frightening, he'd only been to the Deadlands a few times because he thought the realm was either boring or terrifying, with nothing in between.

The Fox possessed a variety of strange abilities in addition to his ability to speak, he had an unnatural sense of smell, described by Ulfsild as able to locate "a Sweetroll in the Deadlands. The Fox could use his nose to sniff out places where the dimensional fabric between the realms was thin and, if the scent was strong enough, "squeeze through" to transport himself to that other plane, an act likened to digging a tunnel from one den to another. Use of this ability was how the Fox originally found and entered the Wing of the Gryphon, even though the door to the realm was sealed. The Fox considered his excellent sense of smell as a very handy tool when it came to stealing trinkets and food, and viewed stealing as what he was good at. Through his abilities, the Fox could sniff out and reveal invisible paths, and even open portals to allow others to travel to whichever realm was his destination alongside him.

According to the Fox, he and the Gryphon were "best of friends", and he described the Luminary as a great hero. The Gryphon, in turn, believed that differences from others do not weaken but rather make one stronger, and so viewed the Fox not only as a creature to whom he offered shelter beneath his wings, as he would to any other, but as a fiendishly clever partner who was a joy to spend time with.

Some of the other Luminaries also expressed a positive opinion of the Fox. The Luminary Dragon considered the Fox a "delightful little creature", and a beast which even one such as herself had to "bow an elegant head" to. The Dragon considered the Gryphon's stewarding and ensuring of the survival of the Fox one of the redeeming qualities of his code, which she otherwise disdained. The Luminary Netch claimed it loved the Fox, as he practically levitated. The Luminary Indrik viewed the Fox as more interesting than the Gryphon himself, though also as strange.

History

Meeting the Gryphon

At some point the Fox encountered the Gryphon, one of the Luminaries of Magic, mysterious immortal beings of pure magic, spirits likened to beams of sunlight from Magnus himself.

The fox was visiting a little village for food during a time of war, having become friends with the local baker. The village was attacked by elven soldiers coming from the west, and some broke into the home of the baker. The fox tried to defend his friend, but he lacked the strength needed. It was than that the Gryphon, who had arrived to protect the inhabitants of the village from the invading soldiers, appeared, putting his head through the roof and saving the Fox and his friend. The grateful Fox would use his unnatural sense of smell to find the Gryphon's realm, and locate a spot where the dimensional fabric around it was thin, before "squeezing through" to enter it himself. The Fox would keep visiting the Gryphon to bring him gifts for weeks. Though initially reluctant, the Luminary eventually relented, and the two became fast friends..

Meeting Ulfsild and the Birth of Scribing

The Scholarium beneath Eyevea

The door to the Wing of the Gryphon

At some point after 1E 2250, when Ulfsild had already located the Wing of the Indrik, she'd also encounter the Gryphon. Ulfsild was studying in the Scholarium, beneath the island of Eyevea. As she was reflecting on a childhood memory, a fox stole her faerite gem and darted through a wall, leading her to stumble into a snow drift and into the realm of the Gryphon. Saved by the Gryphon's protective instincts, Ulfsild came to understand that both the Fox and Gryphon were playful and nurturing creatures, akin to a mischievous child and its protective parent. She observed the fox playing with her faerite and later found herself waking up warmly sheltered under the gryphon's wings.

Eventually, the Scholarium was lost along with Eyevea, transported to the Shivering Isles due to a bargain Shalidor made with the Daedric Prince Sheogorath in exchange for the Folium Discognitum.

Enraged at the loss of the island, the Gryphon prepared himself to challenge Sheogorath himself for it. However, Ulfsild, knowing that even the power of a Luminary was no match for that of a Daedric Prince and that the discovery of the Luminaries by Sheogorath would be disastrous, confronted the Gryphon first. Ulfsild froze the Gryphon in a tempest of frost and ice and tied the magic to a ward she left behind, preventing him from confronting Sheogorath. Despite his imprisonment, the Fox would speak to him daily.

With the doors closed, the altar became dormant. Without that beating heart, the mastery of Scribing was believed to stagnate. The Scholarium itself was not discovered, however, for it had been warded against mages, Princes, and powers, long ago, and those defenses held strong even in the Shivering Isles.

Rediscovery of Scribing

The unstable Scribing Altar

In 2E 582, either before or after Eyevea was returned to Tamriel by Shalidor and the Mages Guild, the Scholarium was rediscovered by a group of knights from the Order of the Lamp. During their arrival, complications arose, necessitating the sealing of the doors to prevent a catastrophe, as the once dormant altar became unstable, threatening the lives of everyone present. The disaster was prevented due to the intervention of the Vestige, who replaced the unstable focusing crystal. This potentially also prevented the discovery of the Scholarium by Sheogorath, an event which would've been catastrophic.

After the magic was calmed, the Scholarium's caretaker, the Luminary Crow, directed the Vestige to seek out the other Luminaries and gain their support in order to return their strength to the altar. An act equated to inheriting Ulfsild's legacy and leaving a mark on spellcraft itself.

The Gryphon, sealed by Ulfsild's magic

The Gryphon and the Fox

The Inheritor of the Scholarium retraced Ulfsild's footsteps, discovering the fable and keys, breaking the wards, and entering the Wing of the Gryphon to reconnect the Scholarium with it. The Fox, eager to free his friend, introduced himself to the Vestige and helped them in this task, helping them locate the lost pages of the Fable of the Gryphon, which he'd hidden away. Upon being freed, the Gryphon gave the Inheritor a series of trials meant to make them contemplate what it takes to protect, to shield those who do not have the strength to defend themselves, right what has gone wrong, and stand against injustice, thus proving themselves to the Luminary.

With these tasks completed, the Gryphon gave the Inheritor their final trial. The Vestige was tasked to steal Chaotic Creatia from Evergloam, the Deadlands, and Apocrypha with the aid of the Fox and the True Sight Lens left by Ulfsild. To start the theft, the Fox used his sense of smell to locate a place where the connection between Nirn and a Daedric realm was thin enough for him to wiggle through, an act likened to digging a tunnel from one den to another. The Fox opened portals to allow the Vestige to enter the realms of the Princes, and helped guide them during the theft of each draught of Creatia. The Gryphon used this untamed power of the Daedric Princes to finally bring to life the construct guardians he'd planned to create with Ulfsild, ensuring the Scholarium would always be guarded even when his own gaze was not upon it. The animated constructs were a success, so powerful that magicka practically radiated off of them, it was said that even Vanus Galerion would be jealous of such creations.

The Luminaries of Magic

With his trials completed, the Gryphon granted the Sigil of the Gryphon to the Inheritor. Placed at the altar, the Sigil restored the connection between the realm of the Gryphon and the Scholarium, and the Gryphon's strength flowed into the altar once more. This reconnection led to the great power of the Gryphon causing new Ley Line activity across Tamriel, thus making new Focus Scripts appear across the land. With the Scholarium now protected, the Gryphon was eager to resume his patrol of the skies.

The Fox appeared in the Wing of the Crow when the Vestige underwent the final trial to be declared the inheritor of Ulfsild's legacy. The Fox revealed Ulfsild had told him to help the Inheritor when the time came, and used his sense of smell to help the Vestige traverse the invisible path through the Luminary Crow's replica of Labyrinthian digging to reveal the way forward after the Vestige broke the arcane wards along the way. In the end, the Inheritor bested the Chimera Aut'arioth, which the Crow had summoned to serve as the final challenge. The Gryphon and the other Luminaries than appeared, and acknowledged the Vestige as the inheritor of Ulfsild's legacy. Thus Scribing returned to Tamriel.

Vanus Galerion was particularly enthusiastic of the possibilities it would open up, with early ideas being altars being installed in every guild hall, or that Scribing will perhaps one day be taught in the wilds. The legacy of Ulfsild's lived on, with Scribing eventually evolving into the modern Spellcrafting systems.

Fable of the Gryphon

The Fable of the Gryphon

The Fable of the Gryphon tells the story of Zariah and the talking fox Gray, who sought to steal the treasure of the Luminary Gryphon and blame the theft on Nocturnal. Their scheme was overheard by Crow Daedra, messengers of Nocturnal, who hunted the thieves. Zariah and Gray evaded the crows and Nocturnal's shadows and gathered the three pieces of the Gryphon's treasure from Riften, from beneath Forelhost and from a tomb in the shadow of Hrothgar. Finally the duo were confronted by the Gryphon, who was doubtful that Nocturnal would steal his treasure as she didn't know him. As the shadows and crows closed in and Zariah attempted futilely to fight them off, a desperate Gray revealed the truth. He was originally Nocturnal's pet who had escaped, and she sought to take him back to the Evergloam. They'd sought the Gryphon's treasure only as the means to live a life where they no longer had to run ,and would return it and more in exchange for protection.

The Gryphon deemed Zariah, courageous and loyal, worthy of his power, he raked his claws through the shadows, and granted her powerful magic. The Gryphon opened the gate to his realm and moved to allow the duo through, but it was too late for both to be saved. As the shadows closed in Zariah used the power the Gryphon had granted her to conjure a tunnel of starlight that pushed back the dark so Gray could slip through, and to than seal the gate behind him. Though safe in the Gryphon's domain, Gray keened and clawed at the door for his friend until his paws bled.

Notes

• The Fable of the Gryphon tells the the story of the talking fox Gray, who ran from the pursuit of Nocturnal alongside his friend Zariah. The Gray Fox was the persona of a legendary thief, created by the curse placed on the Gray Cowl of Nocturnal, which had been stolen by Emer Dareloth. The Fox himself is a thieving fox associated with the Gryphon who, by his own account, hates the Evergloam. Given the similarities between the names and events, its possible there might be some connection between the stories.

References

Note: The following references are considered to be unofficial sources. They are included to round off this article and may not be authoritative or conclusive.